Kick Off: New York City FC, Red Bulls rivalry heating up already

New York Red Bulls boss Mike Petke had some stern words for 2015 expansion side New York City FC: “They’re the new guys coming in and I'm looking forward to smashing them in 2015, to be honest with you. That’s it. I don’t have any love for [them] because it’s a new team in the league, I love this league, and I think expansion is a [good] thing but now that they have come where we are we’ll welcome them, hopefully, with a smashing.”

After much deliberation, Robbie Keane is heading away from MLS for a few weeks to captain the Republic of Ireland. LA announced yesterday that Keane would join up with Ireland for their friendlies against England and Georgia. That’s followed by a World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands on June 7 and a friendly with Spain in NYC on June 12. Bruce Arena isn’t exactly delighted about it: “We're allowing US players to play in friendlies, then we have to do [this]. It creates an awkward situation, but it's fair.”

With Manchester City’s name now intertwined with MLS for years to come, tonight provides the first chance for soccer fans to see them on US soil this year. City will square off against old foe Chelsea (8:30 pm ET, ESPN2) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, where the locals turned up in the thousands to watch Chelsea train. The duo will also meet up at Yankee Stadium next Saturday, but Chelsea will be without Frank Lampard, Gary Cahill and Ashley Cole for that clash, as they return to England to meet up with the national team.

MLS Reserves spoke with Real Salt Lake GM Garth Lagerwey about the possibility of an RSL-branded team competing in USL PRO. Turns out it could be something in the pipeline. Will other MLS teams start to follow suit as the relationship between the two leagues continues to blossom?

This is an intriguing one. Stoke City manager Tony Pulis mutually agreed to step down yesterday, but where does that leave Geoff Cameron, Brek Shea and Maurice Edu? Steve Davis at Pro Soccer Talk delves deeper into that issue. The USMNT trio could see Rafa Benítez arriving to charge at the Britannia Stadium, according to reports.

A tiny island, well more of a rock sticking off of Spain’s southern tip, could soon be a recognized UEFA nation. Member countries will vote in London tomorrow before the Champions League final on whether or not Gibraltar should become UEFA’s 54th member. Gibraltar has been under British control since 1713 and is classified by the UN as a “non-self-governing territory." Could the boys from Gibraltar be taking on Spain, Italy and England soon?

15. GÖTZE TO MISS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL, 2015 FINAL SET FOR BERLIN

A huge blow has been handed to Borussia Dortmund ahead of Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final. Star man Mario Götze is out injured and will miss the final against his future employers. Götze will join Bayern Munich in July, leaving his boyhood team for their bitter rivals. Could he be turning up at the Allianz Arena this summer with a shiny UCL winners medal to show off to his new Bayern teammates?